Mining the mobile phone data from 10 million people over 4 years reveals the subtle changes that occur in the flow of information when disaster strikes, say network scientistsscientists.

...More interesting, however, is what happens next. It’s easy to imagine that the first thing the group of friends and relatives do next is contact other people to spread the news that a disaster has struck.

But instead, the next call they make tends to be straight back to the person involved in the emergency situation. This is completely different to the normal behaviour where the likelihood of returning a call is significantly lower. Indeed, a call made during a concert is less likely than usual to get a call back.

Liang and co conclude that the need for correspondence with eyewitnesses is more critical than the dissemination of situational awareness during emergencies.” In other words, the desire to want to find out more trumps the need to pass on what they already know. At least in emergency situations....

Smart idea. Twitter contests are a cost-effective, efficient and (relatively) easy way to generate mass exposure for your brand, products and services. But before you go ahead and click “GO!”, there’s a few things that you need to remember.

It helps to lay down some house rules. Discourage the creation of multiple accounts or mass-spamming of entries. Ask users to @reply you or use a hashtag in their update so you can monitor results. Ensure your contest and any media you use (including the hashtag) is relevant to your brand. Make sure you follow Twitter’s general rules, not forgetting all other laws and regulations.

This infographic from Keyhole proposes 6 tips for running a Twitter contest.

We love hearing from the growing number teachers who use Pinterest to find ideas for lesson plans, classroom activities, and professional development. Last August we launchedpinterest.com/teachers, a hub for teachers to connect with one another and discover new ideas, and to get inspiration to create their own boards.

Since then, more than 72,000 people have followed the account, and we’ve made some updates:

— New boards added to pinterest.com/teachers, including creative ideas on Technology in the Classroom, High School English, Journalism, Middle School Social Science, and The Works of Roald Dahl.

— More teachers contributing to the hub, including Matt, a K-5 special education teacher;Jamie, a middle school teacher from North Carolina; and Tracee, a high school English teacher from Illinois. You can read more about Matt’s experiences using Pinterest for classroom inspiration on the Gates Foundation blog.

— A new guide for teachers on Pinterest, with tips and tricks to help teachers of all types and from all areas to get started

Mining the mobile phone data from 10 million people over 4 years reveals the subtle changes that occur in the flow of information when disaster strikes, say network scientistsscientists.

...More interesting, however, is what happens next. It’s easy to imagine that the first thing the group of friends and relatives do next is contact other people to spread the news that a disaster has struck.

But instead, the next call they make tends to be straight back to the person involved in the emergency situation. This is completely different to the normal behaviour where the likelihood of returning a call is significantly lower. Indeed, a call made during a concert is less likely than usual to get a call back.

Liang and co conclude that the need for correspondence with eyewitnesses is more critical than the dissemination of situational awareness during emergencies.” In other words, the desire to want to find out more trumps the need to pass on what they already know. At least in emergency situations....

Federal officials are trying to build participation in an online information network designed to organize and vet academic content for educators, a tool meant to free them from having to go through time-consuming, site-by-site searches for materials.

The U.S. Department of Education and other entities have been working on the network, known as the Learning Registry, for two years, though they say they only recently finished the computer code for the system. The agency has spent about $1 million on the project so far.

With group presentations, it is always difficult to find a way to collaborate effectively on a presentation. Sending a PowerPoint over e-mail repeatedly can be a hassle, because no one will have the same draft at the same time. With a collaborative presentation, it’s important to edit in real-time in a space that works for everyone. To help with that, we have found...

Creating digital learning content has never been easier. In these pages you'll find eleven tools that make it fun to bring together different types of digital media - text, images, audio, video - to "mash up" your own online learning materials.

To create your own digital content is a big step but not one out of reach for any of us. These tools allow you to create resources for online use in the classroom OR give you an idea of what is possible. Investigate some of the possibilities and then discuss with me and we'll see what can be done with a little thought and planning.

Sounds like a great place to start students understanding what their emotional intelligence is. Need to convince students that emotional intelligence makes a difference.

What a quote:

"Your ability to concentrate on the work you're doing or your schoolwork, and to put off looking at that text or playing that video game until after you're done ... how good you are at that in childhood turns out to be a stronger predictor of your financial success in adulthood than either your IQ or the wealth of the family you grew up in,"

Another great quote:

When an emotionally intelligent person experiences a failure or setback, he or she is able to bounce back quickly. This is in part because of the ability to mindfully experience negative emotions without letting them get out of control, which provides a higher degree of resilience.

Are you on LinkedIn? This question has become more common in that past year, with total subscribers topping 200 million in early 2013 and the stock price doubling in the subsequent six months. As I note in Chapter 13 of Fast Track Your Job Search (and Career!), LinkedIn is “the premier social networking site designed for business matters and is used by most Internet-savvy business people, regardless of generation.” It is your number one web location for presenting your personal brand!

By the time a topic is “trending” on Twitter, it’s probably old news already. Today in New York City, data-crunching company Dataminr announced a new tool for journalists. Its goal is to seek out news stories before they’re heavily reported.

Dataminr For News does this by scanning Twitter, albeit in a slightly different way from existing filter tools. The news-gathering tool was developed as a partnership with Twitter and CNN, whose reporters and editors have been using the software for six months and have helped shape it during that time.

Rebekah Radice breaks down the 12 Most Innovative Ways to Create Content That Gets Shared.

Your most important online asset is your content. It attracts clients to you and encourages prospects to take action. However, creating compelling content that engages your audience and inspires them to share that content with their community can feel elusive.

Whether you are writing for your blog or social media sites, the ideas below will help you write innovative and compelling content that gets shared...

2013 had no shortage of great blog content. We were thrilled, humbled and amazed by the content shared and thoughtful feedback from readers. Below our team compiled a list of the top 10 blogs we enjoyed this year.

Think of two people who work in your organization: one a level or two below you, and the other a level above. Now imagine getting an email from each of them. Ask yourself how long it would take you? Now is the time to read this article for great insights.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.